The Athletics have taken advantage of the scuffling Kansas City Royals to find some needed road success.

On Sunday afternoon, the A’s will try to sweep a three-game set and send the Royals to a winless six-game homestand.

The Athletics entered the series mired in a 14-game road skid but won 6-4 on Friday, then rode six brilliant innings and nine strikeouts from starter Jacob Lopez to a 4-0 victory Saturday. That outcome clinched the first winning road series since May 2-4 for the A’s, who will attempt to sweep their second away set of 2025.

They’ve also registered 17 hits, including four home runs, in the last two games.

“As is baseball, it’s just like hitting, same thing with winning, it’s up and down,” Athletics third baseman Max Muncy, who has four home runs and 11 RBIs in nine games since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 4, told NBC Sports California.

“You’ve just got to keep pushing through. … Get it done every day.”

Kansas City, meanwhile, has averaged 3.03 runs amid a 10-21 rut that’s dropped it three games below .500. The Royals have batted .201 while being outscored 27-9 by the New York Yankees and A’s through five games of this homestand.

In addition, Kansas City has lost six consecutive series at home, where it has dropped six straight games and is 3-13 since starting 16-5 there.

“There’s frustration because they want to win, but it’s not a give-up attitude,” manager Matt Quatraro said.

That belief amid these struggles is echoed through the Royals’ clubhouse.

“Continue to work, continue to show up. We all believe good things are going to happen to this club,” pitcher Michael Wacha said. “We got the right guys in here, and we firmly believe and have that confidence that we can get a lot of wins with this club.”

Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (2-2, 2.17 ERA) got off to a stellar beginning on his highly anticipated major league career, allowing three earned runs while completing at least six innings through his first five starts. Then he faced the Yankees on Tuesday, and yielded a two-run homer to Aaron Judge, a three-run shot to Austin Wells, and one other run over 5 2/3 innings of a 10-2 defeat.

Though the A’s aren’t nearly as potent as New York, they have 13 home runs and 17 doubles during their current 5-4 stretch. Meanwhile, budding star shortstop Jacob Wilson has four hits in this series.

Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs (5-5, 4.64 ERA) is slated on Sunday to make his first start since May 30, when he allowed six runs, six hits and six walks in two innings of an 11-7 loss at Toronto. Springs’ two outings since then have come after the A’s used an opener, and he allowed four runs — three earned — and five hits in each effort while completing 6 2/3 innings versus Minnesota on June 4 and six at the Los Angeles Angels on Monday.

Springs’ only start against the Royals came last summer, when he yielded eight hits but two runs, one earned, over 4 1/3 innings.

Kansas City star Bobby Witt Jr. is 1-1 against Springs. However, Witt is 0-for-15 in the last four contests overall.

–Field Level Media

EUGENE, Ore. — Junior Vera Sjöberg of the Boston University track & field finished as the national runner-up in the 5000m at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships on Saturday night at Hayward Field.
 
The second-place finish is the best finish by a female Terrier at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She secured BU eight points, tying the Terriers for 34th place at the Championships.
 
Sjöberg ran a time of 15:34.77 to take second place, using a 64-second final lap — the fastest in the 24-athlete field — to move from seventh to second over the final 400 meters.
 
It was a race where Sjöberg continued to have more in the tank, moving up from 17^th with 2000m to go to 12^th with two laps remaining. On top of the late kick, she had previously competed in the 1500m just an hour and 44 minutes prior to the starting gun of the 5000m.
 
On top of the national runner-up honor, Sjöberg also takes home her second career First Team All-America award after earning the accolade in the indoor mile.
 
Prior to the 5000m Sjöberg finished 11^th in the 1500m final and was named Second Team All-American, crossing the line in 4:12.52. She opened the first 300 meters in fourth place and at the bell held strong in fifth but dropped to 11^th in the final lap.
 
Sjöberg, who will graduate in August of this year, is the first Terrier to ever race in multiple events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
She finishes her undergraduate career at BU with five school records, 13 Patriot League titles between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track and is the 23^rd-fastest indoor miler in collegiate history and is the 24^th-fastest outdoor 1500m runner in collegiate history.
 

Raud-Gumiel, overcame early setbacks in the grueling seven-event competition. She fouled on each of her three long jump attempts and failed to score in the event. She rebounded in the javelin with a mark of 100 feet, 1 inch on her final attempt to finish ninth in her flight and 19th overall. In the 800 meters, she closed out the competition with a time of 2:23.07, placing 18th.

Raud-Gumiel totaled 4,577 points to finish 21st in the overall standings. Oklahoma’s Pippi Lotta Enok captured the national title with 6,285 points.

With her performance, Raud-Gumiel became the first Long Beach State women’s athlete to earn All-America honors since Bria Palmer placed 19th in the high jump in 2019. She is the first LBSU All-American in the heptathlon since Riley Cooks earned the distinction in 2016 and 2017. Only three Long Beach State athletes have achieved All-American status in the heptathlon, a list that also includes Ami Ice (1991).

Raud-Gumiel’s breakdown

EUGENE, Ore. — Army Track and Field’s Emily Fink concluded her collegiate career on the nation’s biggest stage, competing in the women’s hammer throw at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

The Three Lakes, Wisc. native finished with a final mark of 62.20m in the event after three attempts. 

Fink’s mark was good to finish 22nd in the field, falling just short of earning Second Team All-American honors. 

Emily Fink concludes her season as well as her collegiate career as one of the most decorated field athletes in Army Track and Field’s program history. 

She holds both the indoor and outdoor program record in the shot put plus the outdoor hammer throw, and holds the second-best marks in indoor weight throw. She also holds several records in the Patriot League record book, including indoor and outdoor shot put as well as hammer throw.

Fink’s postseason accolades include earning outdoor track and field First Team All-Patriot League three times in her career (2022; 2024-25) and the indoor track and field All-Patriot League First Team and Second Team twice (2022, 2025) each in her career. She was also named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2022. 

Emily Fink has been named an NCAA Outdoor All-American (2024) after her first appearance in the NCAA Outdoor Championship as well as has participated in Olympic Trials. For all her postseason accomplishments, Fink was also named this year’s Women’s AAA Award winner. 

Hear From Coach Smith: 

Emily was the first thrower in the second flight of 12 women. The second flight comprised the best women in the field, and I know that Emily relished the opportunity to throw first and put up a good mark for the rest of the field to chase.  Her first throw was far and landed at about the 68-meter mark in the middle of the sector and then we heard the event officially announce, “No mark,”  Emily challenged the call, and the mark was held while the officials conducted a video review of the throw.  After review, the foul call was upheld. Emily knew that she had two more attempts, so she kept her focus and when she was called up for her second attempt, she calmly stepped into the ring and put up an even bigger throw. Her 2nd throw dropped right on the 70-meter line and as we were about to celebrate the throw, we heard the event official call “no mark”.  It was a difficult moment for Emily, but it didn’t change her demeanor.  Her third attempt was a legal throw but not far enough for her to advance to the final. Emily has much to be proud of in her storied career. She leaves as one of the most decorated track and field athletes in the history of the Army West Point program.  She set records that will stand for a long time, she won a U20 USA championship, multiple Star Meet titles, and multiple Patriot League titles. But most importantly, she set a new standard of excellence for other Army Track and Field women to follow. She made everyone around her better. We will miss her.